Treating old things
by Kiichiliac
Summary: LOTS of stuff is explained in this chapter... Perhaps too much.
1. Chapter 1

"Sakura's mom Nadeshiko was in a choir together with my mom when they both were young, and it started a friendship that lasted all Nadeshiko's life. My mom Yuuko and her siblings were always together with Nadeshiko, so when Sakura and I grew up we practically lived together."

She paused and looked down at her darkblue skirt.

"Sakura was of course different back then. Athletic, but clumsy. Cheerful, but considerate. All in all..." Tomoyo clenched her fingers. "She was the perfect girl. The perfect friend. Everyday of being together with her was sunny. Like she was the sun.

But... Where there's a sun, there's also clouds."

She looked over at me, as to assure that I was still listening.

"For you to understand this, I have to tell you about my family. My mom has a sister and a brother. Her sister is one of the most incredible persons ever to have existed. Her singingvoice is beautiful, and even though she has three daughters, she always finds time and love for others as well. Her brother though, was the exact opposite of his sisters. He didn't really like people, he always spent more time on antics and archeological wonders. He was never really together with the rest of the family."

"Was?"

"That little 'was' is the reason for Sakura's behaviour today. Fei Wong, my mom's brother, had two sons. The older one, Yukito, was about three years older than us, and nothing like his father. Yukito was kind, clever and always helpful."

She paused and looked down at her fingers again.

"Actually it's no wonder that Sakura fell in love with him.

But it's a wonder how jealous I got."

"You were in love with him?"

"No. I wasn't in love with _him_."

The way she said _him_ made me understand.

"So I did what I thought was the best. I stopped texting Sakura, I stopped inviting her over. Every time she suggested a day we could be together, I made sure that she ended up spending it with Yukito instead. It hurted just seeing her, knowing her thoughts. But then... Then something happened. Something where I should have been there to support her." She inhaled deeply.

"Sakura decided, being the dear, naive little girl she was, to tell Yukito that she loved him. She called to tell me and ask me to go with her, but I didn't pick up. I just sat in my chair and listened to her message on the answering-machine. So she went alone."

Tears came up in her eyes. She clenched her fists and hammered her right hand down in the bed.

"I SHOULD have picked up. I SHOULD have gone with her and waited outside. I should..."

She bit her lip.

"We... We actually don't really know what happened. The next day my mom and I went over to Fei's house to invite them to the next familydinner. The door was unlocked, even though it was early in the morning. It was weird, because Fei always activated his alarmsystem at night. We went inside and called, but no one answered. Yukito's room was empty, and so was Eriol's. We thought that they may be down in the basement with all Fei's archeological things and... And they were. Sakura was sitting up against the wall in..." Tomoyo gasped, and tears ran down her pale face.

"In the other end of the room. She just sat there. Yukito and Fei and Eriol... Their bodies were spread throughout the room, like they had been standing at Sakura and then been blown away from her. Of course we called an ambulance, but they were already dead. Officially they died from heartattacks. The Daidoujifamily has a lot of friends in a lot of places, including hospitals and the police."

She looked at me.

"They had scars. Scars all over the body. They were long and thin, like a bird had cut them with its wings. My mom called one of her friends from the police, and some from her private guard, and they cleaned the whole thing up. Sakura was brought to our family's private clinic."

"Private clinic?"

"My dad's clinic. It 'specializes in familymembers' health'. He started it when Nadeshiko got sick, about a year before the incident with Fei Wong. But just as there was nothing he could do for Nadeshiko, Sakura didn't get well. She didn't eat much, she could go for days on just a bit of cucumber. She couldn't speak and she couldn't laugh or smile and cry."

Tomoy looked out the window.

"She's better now. She eats almost every day. That's why I always eat lunch with her. I make her lunch and tries to make sure she eats it. But... She can't talk... And her sleep is still bad."

"Her sleep?"

Tomoyo nodded.

"It sounds weird, I know. But after the incident, Sakura couldn't sleep. In the start we didn't worry about it, but after three days we started to give her herbaltea and pills to make her sleep. I wish we hadn't done it. It did make her fall asleep, but... Seeing her sleep was horrifying. As soon as she closed her eyes she started screaming, screaming her lungs out and scratching the air and gasp as if she were drowning."

Tomoyo looked down at her bed.

"Sakura lives in the little house next to ours, but she often spends the night at Oruha, or here. Especially in stormy weather. We have to... To tie her sometimes, if the weather is really bad. But most of the time I just embrace her and try to keep her still that way. She needs people to hold her, but she can't handle being together with many strangers at the time. And she can't handle men."

Tomoyo looked me in the eyes.

"You saw how terrified she was when you spoke to her today. Every time she gets near a male she starts remembering that horrible incident... or whatever it was. That's why it will be hard for you to keep loving her. Are you ready for it, Shaoran? Are you ready to see fear in her eyes every time you approach her? Are you ready to her her screaming of pain in the night? Are you ready to see her faint because she forgot to eat? Are you ready to always be near her, ready to shield her against any harm? Are you ready to do all that, knowing that she might never be able to thank you or love you?"

When I got up from the chair, I didn't know what to answer.

But when I kneeled in front of Tomoyo, the words easily came from my mouth.

"If she fears my face, I'll wear a mask.

If she screams of pain, I'll be her anesthesia.

If she faints, I'll catch her.

And if a bullet comes or anything or anyone even thinks of harming her,

I'll be her shield, armour and sword.

Even if she'll never know what I'm doing."

Tomoyo looked down at me, smiling softly.

"I think you're the right one, Shaoran.

I don't know how to explain it, but I get the feeling that if we were living in

another place, in another time, Sakura would be a princess."

She put her hand on my shoulder.

"And I think you'd be her knight."


	2. Chapter 2

In the end the tea and cakes got cold, but we ate and drank anyway. Sakura was just as silent as before, only eating a few bites, and it was hard to tell whether or not she was as freaked out as Tomoyo and I. Tomoyo was partially nipping at a jam filled scone, partially looking through the book. Weirdly enough she was closely examining the blank pages.

"There are 53 blank pages."

I turned my head and looked down at her. I was up on the ladder again, looking at the books that had been standing around Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles. Quickly I climbed down and glanced over Tomoyo's shoulder. "And your point is?" I said, and took a big bite out of the croissant in my hand.

"My point is that you can't just have an empty book. We have to fill it."

I nearly choked on my cake, which was a shame since it was so delicious. "We? But... We can't just write in the book... We know nothing about the princess or the knight or the country of Clow... It probably doesn't even exist!"

Tomoyo looked at me, then at Sakura who was silently sitting a few meters from us, staring into the air. Her eyes were both empty and full at the same time, like they're were seeing something we couldn't see.

"It does exist."

Tomoyo's voice was low, almost not noticeable, but the words rang like bells in my head.

And suddenly something inside me clicked in to place, and I sat down next to her, my shoulders suddenly feeling like rocks.

"You're... Right. It does exist. And we have to finish that story. We of all people have to."

"You know... I once heard of some ruins in the south of Japan, called the Tsubasa ruins.

They were found many years ago, but people just thought it was a form for an old temple and let them be. There is not much information about them, but if we use my mother's network, maybe we can find something."

I nodded eagerly. How often do you get a chance to learn about ancient Asian ruins, while spending time with the one person you want to be together with the most?

"It'll at least give us a start point, and I bet no one else in the class is writing abut them."

Tomoyo got up and stretched her arms in the air, her back giving off weird sounds.

"You know, it's Friday today. Could you call your parents and ask for permission to stay here?

I think it would be nice if the three of us could stay here together for the next few days..."

I nodded. Weirdly enough, it made sense. And weirdly enough, I felt that being close to Sakura was the only thing in the world that mattered right now.

Tomoyo took my arm. "There's a phone out in the hallway. I'll go tell my mom that you two are staying, and ask her how many people she knows in South Japan."

While Tomoyo walked away I phoned my parents. They were happy to hear that I 'was in safe hands'. Personally I wasn't sure how safe I was.

A moment after that thought ran through my head, I was attacked.

The attacker was a little white poodle, with big black eyes and a red collar.

While I was trying to calm it down, a tall black-haired woman approached me, Tomoyo walking a bit behind her, with a weird expressing in her face. If I hadn't know how polite she was, I would have thought that she was trying to hold back a laughter.

"Mokona! Get down from our guest!" the woman said. Her voice wasn't loud or intimidating, but it was a voice that made you want to obey. The poodle sat down, eagerly waving its tail.

"I am terribly sorry for Mokona's behaviours. He is just always so excited to see new people he can... Greet."

"I somehow think you mean attack, dear mother." Tomoyo said with a smile. She bended her knees and stroke Mokona's head.

"Shaoran, this is my mother Yuuko."

Yuuko reached out a thin white hand, and I shook it in a slightly awkward way.

Most of my friends' parents were rarely home, and even rarer they bothered to shake my hand.

Kamui's dad usually gave me a high five and an advice about girls, just before he got slapped by Kamui's mom who told me not to listen to him.

But Yuuko was different in every aspect. Unlike my mom, who usually wore her bakery uniform or jeans and a T-shirt, Yuuko was dressed in a long black gown covered with beads, and around her neck hang a pearl necklace that looked like it weighed quite a few pounds.

Her black hair was straight and and hang loosely down below her waist, with small himecuts framing her face. Her eyes were grey like Tomoyo's, and they gave you the same feeling of eyes that could see beyond flesh and blood.

Yuuko went into the library and Tomoyo and I followed. Sakura wasn't sitting where we had left her, and for a moment I felt panic spread through my body. Tomoyo noticed and put her hand on my arm, and then she pointed to the big French doors on the other side of the room.

Sakura stood there, with the book open, and stared out of the gigantic glass-doors.

Just when I opened my mouth to call out for her, she turned her head.

"It's raining."

Yuuko tilted her head with a little smile, and walked over to her. "Well, what do you know, it sure is. And it was right about time, dear." She waved her hand at me and Tomoyo, and we walked over to her. Tomoyo carefully put her hand on Sakura's shoulder and looked over it, then suddenly froze.

"Shaoran... You have to see this."

In the book, on the first blank page after the story about the country of Clow, was a picture of a little guy in weird chequered clothes, with tear shaped beads. The picture was framed with elaborate gold decorations, and at the bottom it said _The Rain._


	3. Chapter 3

"I know all the intelligent people of the world say that love is the best feeling in the world. But I am sure that it is actually the feeling of knowing that it is Saturday and you can play all day." Tomoyo said, stretching her arms and yawning.

We had all woken up early, and were now watching how the sunlight slowly filled the room.

Sakura had a sleepy expression on her face, and was staring at the windows.

The door opened and Yuuko, already formally dressed in a black gown with a high slit that exposed numerous layers of blue ruffles, came in. Seeing such an exotiv outfit so early in the morning reminded me once again how different people's lives could be. At this point in the day, my mom would already be busy in the bakery, sleeves curled up, arms covered in flour and a hectic, but happy expression on her face. Yuuko carried a light smile and a big pile of books in assorted colours and shapes, and I was slightly surprised untill I remembered that she had promised to bring us some books about the ruins. I was also surprised that even though the books must have weighed a great deal, she wasn't the slightest out of breath. She looked as calm end vital as ever, as if the books had merely been feathers.

"As promised, dear kids. Breakfast will be brought in later, and hopefully be more tasty than this. Good luck searching."

It was not untill she reached the door that I broke the silence.

"You mean good luck finding."

She stopped for a second, before she slowly turned around, her dress making a soft 'swoosh' sound. She tilted her head and slightly opened her pale mouth.

"I am sorry...?"

"Good luck finding. We're not just searching for this... Whatever it is. We will find it. I will." I said patiently.

Yuuko, to my surprised, smiled, and her eyes suddenly had something that a more romantic person would definitely describe as a sparkle. Then without a word, she turned and slipped out of the door, leaving us to the task of finding _it._

"I... I actually love studying. You know. I really do. I spent two months helping out at a dig-out in Egypt out of pure interest. I won an architect competition. I work as a help teacher once a weak. But this book, it is just so... I think it forced every drop of love I have ever had for ruins or reading out of my body." Tomomoyo chocked me by saying a couple of hours later. Her and I were sitting on the steps above the improvised beds with each our book. Sakura was still laying on her mattres, also reading a book, but that was more to keep her occupied than anything else. The mysterious picture book was laying beside, open on a blank page.

"I don't know, this book is actually pretty interesting."

Tomoyo stretched her neck to see the cover.

"Of course it is." She said without any emotion in her voice. "My mother wrote that one."

I quickly lifted the book to look at the cover and confirmed that she was right, then gestured her to come closer. "Yeah, and look at this – it has tons of pictures! Like this really cool one." I pointed to a page that was filled out by a young woman in a flowing white dress. Small flowers and music notes were adorning her long wavy hair, and even though it was faint, you could see a peaceful smile on her face. In her fragile hans she held a clase of flowers slightly different from the ones in her hair. "It's a photo of an old restored painting in the ruins. Apparently there were many paintings, but this was the biggest. It took up an entire wall in the furthest chamber. According to the book, there's a whole lot of stories and theories going around, about the ruins actually being a temple for this woman, who was considered a goddess in that area." I said.

Tomoyo looked up from the book, a thoughtful expression tinting her spotless features.

She bend down and shoved a few books around, apparently searching for one in particular. Finally she found it.

"Here. I did think I saw it when she handed over the books." With a satisfied look, she viped the dust of the book. It was green, and said 'The tale of the goddess' in gold letters. Tomoyo made a face. "I know it is a slightly unappealing, maybe cliche, title, but it is written by a man, and men are absolutely the best to write about goddesses."

"And what makes you think that?"

Tomoyo smiled, and for a brief moment, I could have sworn she was her mother.

"Oh, Shaoran. Is it not obvious? When a man spends months, years, on finding information about one woman, this one woman that is magical and beautiful and above everyone else, is it not natural for him to fall in love with her? And an author can only be good, if he loves what he writes about."

She looked down on Sakura, who was happily looking through the pages of the same book af before. Well, at least she looked happy.

I nodded. "I think you know what I mean."

Because I realized that for something to be good, you must do it for something, or someone, you love.

"Allright, so let's get it open."

Tomoyo carefully opened the book and turned the first few pages, which were stiff and yellow of age.

"A few stories about the general area and how they worshipped the goddess. Apparently she was..." Tomoyo followed the amost faded lines with a slim, pale finger "the ideal woman, whom young girls would pray to. They prayed that they could be as perfect wifes for their husbands, just as she was the perfect goddess."

"Huh. Sounds kinda chauvinistic."

Tomoyo smiled. "How refreshing to hear a male say that." She looked down at the book again. "Seeing how she was a goddess for women, she also took care of animals, and flowers and weather... In short, asically anything that had anything to do with life. Especially flowers."

She paused and wrinkled her forhead. "Please let me see the picture of her again."

I handed over the book.

"Look, there is flowers in her hair." She leaned closer to the book, and so did I, squinting my eyes to try and see the small details.

"Hey, they look kinda like..."

"Cherry blossoms. In Japan, they call them _Sakura._"

As on a cue, Sakura's mysterious book lit up. She gave a little jump, but quickly relaxed and smiled widely, picking up the book. "Look. Flower." she said, turning the book so we could se the brandnew picture of a beautiful woman in a huge dress, surrounded by flowers. Her hair was curled up in some bizarre hairdo and she wore the cutest smile. It seemed like seeing the flowers around her was the greatest joy she had ever experienced.

"It is very pretty, Sakura." Sakura nodded and returned to eagerly studying the book. Tomoyo again turned her attention to the picture of the goddess.

"I think I know what she is holding." She said and then tilted her head.

"What?"

"_Nadeshiko_. The perfect flower." She whispered.


End file.
